Class Tip: Nouns, Adjectives, and Verbs

May 25, 2017

Noun + Adjective:

In a large number of languages across the world, the order of nouns and
adjectives goes as follows: “Tree big green”. However, in English most
sentences start with the adjectives, followed by the noun at the end. For
example, “The big green tree”.

This makes it hard for non-native English speakers to accurately describe what
they want to say. Rather than starting with the noun and following it with the
appropriate describers, we must learn to start with the adjectives finishing
with the noun.

Irregular Nouns:

In English, there are many irregular plural nouns. This means that instead of
simply adding an “S” to the end of a noun, it may follow another rule. For
example, cactus becomes cacti.

There is a big debate about the singular and plural usage of the word “data.”
Even some native English speakers often don’t know that the singular form of
the word data is datum.

The datum is accurate.

The data are accurate.

Although the word “data” is technically plural, often times it is used as a
singular noun. You will often hear people say, “the data is accurate.” So,
neither side is conversationally incorrect, but you pick a side!

Irregular Verbs:

Did you know that 70% of the time you use a verb in the English language, it is
irregular? This means that you will have to practice using them in lots of
situations to help you learn how to use them.

Bet, burst, cast, spread, split, fit, shut, cost, cut, hit, hurt, quit, set,
shut, and let are all irregular verbs, but they follow a similar rule. Can
you guess what it is?

Whenever you use these verbs, they hold the same form in past, present and
future tense. This is just one of the many irregular verbs that exist in the
English language!

Ask your teacher about some more the next time you attend class. Not sure which
class to take? Visit our Classes
page for more information.

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